Annunciation Light Alliance: Shooting survivors find meaning 'moving their feet'

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - The Annunciation Church and School community is marking a year since a mass shooting claimed the lives of two children and injured 30 others — and the families left behind are determined to make sure it never happens again.

A community united by loss

The Twin Cities community will come together for a day of service and remembrance to honor Harper Moyski, Fletcher Merkel, the two dozen children injured, four adults hurt and everyone else impacted by the shooting.

What we know:

Mike Roaldi, an Annunciation parent, ran into the church when he heard about the shooting to find his three kids and help the victims. His youngest was friends with Fletcher. In the year since, his instinct to help has not faded.

"Within a few hours, I think Principal (Matt) DeBoer made a statement that everybody, that had an impact on everybody, which was 'When you pray, move your feet,'" said Roaldi. "And that's a concept that's just gotten into our psyche and been part of our response and grief."

Harper's parents, Jackie Flavin and Mike Moyski, also channeled their grief into action. Annunciation was one of 235 school shootings across the U.S. last year, according to the K-12 School Shooting Database. The Moyskis set out to end them.

"I think it was for us, it was really the only meaningful thing that we could find to do," said Mike Moyski, Harper Moyski's father. "I think very early on, we realized that for our unique situation, all of this, you know, there is really no justice. Right? Like, none of this stuff can bring Harper back into our lives or bring Fletcher back."

Roaldi and Mike Moyski helped build the Annunciation Light Alliance to advocate for change. The group took an apolitical approach to Minnesota lawmakers, hoping to spark conversations that could lead to new laws — ones that identify warning signs before they reach schools and reduce harm when they cannot be stopped.

"One thing we've noticed that's been really incredible through the hardest time of our lives is that people want to help, they just don't know how," said Moyski. "And so when you give them, regardless of the task, something to do, it feels really good, and they feel a part of it."

From the Capitol to the Rotunda

Parents and students brought their message directly to the Capitol. Among those who testified was eighth grader Lydia Kaiser.

"All children have the right to live, free from gun violence in schools, churches, and in our communities," said Kaiser. "Elected officials have a duty to protect us from guns. No one should have to go through what we went through at Annunciation."

Flavin and Mike Moyski also helped build an installation of 60 empty desks outside the Capitol in the February snow — and two more inside, representing Harper's and Fletcher's desks. Annunciation students then led a singalong inside the Capitol Rotunda, drawing onlookers who lined the upper level to watch.

"Watching those kids, knowing what they've been through, sing, you know, and people were lining the top of the Rotunda to watch it," said Roaldi. "I mean, that's a moment I'll never forget, and I hope it called to people to engage in the kind of conversation that we're asking them to."

The alliance's biggest push called for bans on semiautomatic weapons and high-capacity magazines. Those measures passed in the state Senate but failed along party lines in the House.

What we don't know:

Even though the broader firearm safety measures did not pass, the Annunciation Light Alliance did convince the divided legislature to pass new guardrails on social media accounts for minors and mandated anonymous threat reporting systems for schools.

"Those are two things that I genuinely believe will prevent incidents like this in the future," said Roaldi. "And even one prevented incident is worth all of the effort that we put in."

The alliance's work is far from over. This school year's theme for Annunciation is "guide our feet to the way of peace," and the group plans to keep pushing forward.

"We committed in our minds almost unconsciously that this is a new life mission for us," said Moyski. "And that doesn't just mean one session, one... law or bill not passing or moving forward or anything like that. This is something that we're going to keep marching towards."